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Is Apple's Split A Defense Against Activists?

Written by: Antoine Gara06/13/14 - 12:43 PM EDT

Tickers in this article:
AAPL BRK.B

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Apple's seven-for-one stock split is already having the desired effect. Institutional ownership of Apple shares has fallen in the past week, indicating that retail investors have used the split to buy Apple stock and become a greater percentage of the iPhone maker's shareholder base.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said in April the 7:1 split was intended to make "Apple stock more accessible to a larger number of investors." Most took those comments to mean Apple's share price, around $600 at the time, was tempering retail investor interest in the company. A split, however, could make Apple shares more palatable for individual investors.

That's exactly what is happening just five trading days into Apple's split.

The percentage of institutional holders of Apple shares has fallen since the company's stock split. Institutional investors held 63.84% of Apple's outstanding shares as of June 8, according to Bloomberg data. After Monday's stock split that ownership has fallen to 63.38% as of June 13, the data shows.

While a half percentage point drop in the percentage of institutional Apple shareholders may appear to be grasping at straws, it is a significant change for a company with a market capitalization in excess of $550 billion.

More to the point, the percentage of Apple shares held by institutional investors is on a consistent downtrend and appears poised to fall to new multi-year lows. Apple's institutional ownership bottomed at about 63.30% in early January. Now, continued retail interest in Apple shares will take institutional holdings to multi-year lows.

The longer-term trend is even more significant.

Institutional holders as a percentage of overall Apple shareholders have fallen over 10% over the past three years. In June 2011, institutional holders accounted for nearly three-quarters of Apple shareholders. How far could Apple's institutional ownership fall?

That may be an important question for Apple, and could it could even shed new light on the company's motives for the split.

Stock splits have long been looked upon by investors like Warren Buffett as an unnecessary piece of financial engineering. Splits do nothing to impact a company's fundamental performance. When Berkshire Hathaway split its stock as part of a takeover of BNSF Railways, Buffett said the move was like "preparing for a colonoscopy."

Splits have also been used to fend off hostile takeover bids and corporate raiders. Splitting shares can broaden a company's investor base, minimizing the prospect that a team of institutional investors vote together on corporate issues.

Apple is all to familiar with large, unsatisfied shareholders pressing for change.

In 2012, David Einhorn of hedge fund Greenlight Capital Management first advocated Apple dramatically alter its capital structure by issuing billions of dollars' worth of perpetual preferred securities. Apple didn't bite on Einhorn's plan, which was called 'iPrefs.'

Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn waged a new campaign to have Apple further increase its buyback and dividend activity. After multiple meetings with CEO Tim Cook, the company relented with its own plan to increase capital returns. Icahn holds nearly $5 billion worth of Apple shares.

Perhaps, Apple now wants to change the conversation with its shareholders.